Hello All, I am in the process of starting a Commercial Photography venture, and would like to hear advice from some of you that have made it already! what you think my best spent advertising money might be, Etc. I was considering an ad in the yellow pages, but I am in the South Florida area, and you could rent a studio in a large City, for what Phone Book advertising costs here a month, so I have been leaning more towards Mail Pieces at least to begin with. Any advice from the commercial people would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks Larry
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
What sort of commercial photography do you do? Who are your dream clients? Your best advertising money would be spent in a comprehensive marketing plan which uses multiple methods of contacting your target market as efficiently as possible. Such a plan would be very different for a personal portrait photographer as opposed to someone who shoots cars for magazines, for example.
I have some articles on my website which may help you (they're called "manuals" and they are free).
Best--
Leslie
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Hi Larry,
If by commercial photography you mean product photography and related work, don't use telephone directory advertising. Business people who use the telephone directory to find photographers, in my experience, tend to be ignorant and cheap. They'll waste your time arguing over prices sometimes to the point of being abusive. Many won't even listen to any suggestions that you might have to do a better job.
Instead, use direct mail to select the clients you want to work with.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
[ QUOTE ] don't use telephone directory advertising.
[/ QUOTE ]
Although I come from a totally different area in the world, but I totally agree; It's a waste of money. I went through the mistake of advertising in both the Yellow and Blue pages (both are commercial guides, Yellow Pages are published by the phone company and the Blue Pages are published by the Chamber of Commerce). I wish I hadn't..
Waleed
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I'll agree with the previous posters about the (non)-efficacy of phone-book ads for commercial photographers. The most important thing you can do before starting your business is to figure out who your clients are, and how they find photographers. Are they design firms? Advertising agencies? Local manufacturers? Who at these companies buys photography? Do you know any of them? In my experience, these people don't look in the phone book when they need a photographer -- they already know every commercial shooter in the area, and what's in their portfolios, and who might be best for a particular project.
So, if the goal is to get work, you need to do several things:
1. Find out who these people are. You can call various agencies/design firms and ask who buys photography, or you could buy a mailing list from one of the many companies that sell this info to photographers (but be aware that it can be out-of-date outside of major photo markets like NYC).
2. Make them aware of what's in YOUR portfolio. Put together a well-thought-out campaign of post cards and phone calls to your target list, with the goal of getting in and showing your portfolio. This can be difficult, but most art directors and designers *want* to see new work.
3. Continue to send good new work on a regular basis.
All of this is of course contingent upon you having the talent and ability to actually make good pictures <big grin>.
Oh, let me take back one thing. The MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do before starting this business is to figure out your Cost of Doing Business (CODB). This is your salary, benefits, studio rent, equipment, taxes, health insurance, retirement savings, repairs, computers, software, etc., etc. You take this figure and divide it by the number of shooting days, or the number of work days in a year, to get your daily CODB. That's the amount of money you have to bill every single day, day after day, year after year, to stay in business. Knowing this number will help you figure out how much you have to charge to stay in business, and help you know when you are being offered a bad deal by a client.
Okay, I'm getting down off the soap box. You can get more info from the ASMP or EP.
Good luck.
Ken B
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
One more thing...
In Saudi Arabia, I needed two licenses. First from the Ministry of Information, and the second from the Ministry of Commerce. You might need to check your city/state business and tax prerequisites.
Best of luck
Waleed
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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